February 2019
A Message from Tim The Church’s Mission At the end of this month, a special called General Conference will meet in St. Louis to discuss proposals for a Way Forward in dealing with many issues, particularly in areas of human sexuality and church structure. I will be attending as an observer and will be able to bring a report to the church of the proceedings. Rev. Dr. Jack Henton has presented to our congregation, in four separate occasions, the forthcoming proposals to General Conference. We do not know what decisions, if any, will come from this General Conference Session. General Conference might decide a different path than the current wording of the Discipline, or the Conference may decide to leave the language as it is. Then Judicial Council may or may not rule none, part, or all of any decision to be out of order. Then, next year another General Conference will be held that can reinforce or negate what this special session may or may not do. Any changes that might be made will take time to implement, in which time another General Conference could change decisions again. What this means is these issues will likely to continue to be a discussion for some time in the United Methodist Church, as it has been since 1972. Within our congregation and staff, there are different understandings based on our understanding and application of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. These understandings are held dearly, sacredly, and with the desire to be the church that Christ would have us to be. No matter our individual thoughts and stances, I believe we should be in prayer for our Conference, and I believe we should treat everyone respectfully. Remember that Jesus had twelve disciples, including a tax collector and zealot, who would have had many differences. Yet they were all held together in Christ. Perhaps we may never find total agreement on all issues, but it is my prayer that we remain united in Christ, remembering our mission statement:
“ We are a faith community dedicated to loving God and loving others, serving Christ and sharing him, transforming lives and making disciples.”
Missions The GUMC Kenya Mission Team will be headed back to Kenya August 1-14, 2019. This will mark the 10th mission trip to Maua, Kenya for a team from GUMC, with the first team going in 2007. More than 65 different members of our congregation have participated in the trips. GUMC has been one of the largest supporters of Maua Methodist Mission Hospital and its local missions, donating medical supplies and equipment for the hospital, building homes for AIDS orphans, supporting a school for orphans, sponsoring remote medical clinics, etc. There are still openings for this year’s team (you do not have to be a member of GUMC if you have friends that might be interested). For information, contact Ed Clark at 901-826-3514.